The Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes collaborates with more than 80 countries to ensure growth opportunities from trade and investment, to improve development prospects, and to enable their more effective participation in the global economy. The Division provides timely, targeted research and analysis, as well as innovative policy recommendations regarding development, trade and investment.

Through its analysis of African economic issues, UNCTAD aims to increase awareness of some of the most critical development problems of the continent, and to promote action at national, regional and international levels to support African development efforts with a view to enhancing the participation of African countries in the world economy.

News

The Economic Development in Africa Report 2013 subtitled "Intra-African Trade: Unlocking Private Sector Dynamism" focuses on how to strengthen the private sector to boost intra-African trade. It also examines the challenges for intra-African trade posed by non-implementation of regional trade agreements and provides new insights into how to enhance implementation of existing regional agreements.

African governments are embarked on a major campaign to reduce trade barriers between the continent’s countries, but while doing this, they had better take vigorous measures to boost their private sectors, a new UNCTAD report warns, or the gains from this streamlined trading system will benefit foreign firms more than African firms.

The Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD has discussed intensified cooperation for aid to Africa, with the heads of three Japanese development agencies. The meetings took place on the occasion of the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), which was held in Yokohama from 1 to 3 June. ​